|
UC
Davis Fremont and Numic Settlements August 8 - September 16, 2005 |
Prehistory
of Eagle Valley, Nevada
UC Davis Anthropology begins archaeological investigations in eastern
Nevada during second summer session and invites students to apply for
the 2005 UC Davis Archaeological Field School. Field and laboratory techniques
are designed to prepare students for entry into private-sector cultural
resource management or serve as a necessary step in pursuing an academic
career in archaeology.
Fieldwork will concentrate on prehistoric settlement and subsistence patterns in Eagle Valley, Nevada and how they relate to the region's productive pinyon groves, water sources, potential for maize horticulture, and local obsidian sources. The 2005 season will focus on understanding local Fremont (300-1500 AD) archaeology and how this western "periphery" compares to larger settlements to the north (Baker Village) and east (Parowan, Utah).
Foothills
and drainage located above Eagle Valley and Spring Valley (center). 
Profile
of Fremont Pithouse in the valley. 
Support
Posts in-situ (left) and associated Fremont cultural feature
(right).
Snake
Valley Corrugated (top) and Black-on-Gray (bottom) pottery from Fremont
pithouse . Local or tradewares?
Pine nuts or maize? A group's diet requires making critical choices about when and where to live. How did these resources influence the archaeological record of Eagle Valley? Pinus monophylla (left) carpets the local hills with nutritious seeds, but maize was recovered from a local Fremont pithouse (right).
Local
obsidian also provides a major draw for prehistoric groups. Most of the
material pictured here is cultural obsidian debris: flake tools, bifaces,
and chipping remains.
Closer inspection reveals a rich archaeological history. Thousands of years of activity is captured on the ground. Even at the obsidian quarry, local materials for stone tools do not limit to this material - chert also played an important part in the local chipped-stone economy. Prehistoric occupants had a choice of materials to work with and this influenced their strategies for tool use, manufacture, and eventual replacement.
Bifaces
and hafted bifaces made from obsidian within the study area. 
Chert
core and projectiles made from a variety of non-obsidian materials also
recovered from the study area. 
Elko Series projectile and Humboldt Series base fragment.
A chert drill.
Humboldt projectile (left) and intact Elko projectile (right) made from chert.
Data generated from this effort may help distinguish between traces of local Numic and Fremont prehistoric occupation in the region and how they organized life around its resources. Tantalizing evidence of a more ancient presence will also be explored further.
This Field School provides six weeks of intensive instruction in the methods and techniques of archaeological field work. Because of its unique characteristics, Great Basin archaeology often involves maximizing information from surface assemblages and shallow deposits. As such, this session will strongly emphasize surface survey, mapping techniques, digital photography, and the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Subsurface testing of rock rings as potential habitation sites and other features will also instruct students in excavation techniques essential to most archaeological projects: establishing provenience and context, matrix identification, and controlled data extraction. The lab component will concentrate on data recording, identification of cultural materials, and field cataloging with artifact accession.
Rock rings in the pinyon zone probably indicate wickiup structure foundations or may be fall/winter pinyon caches. Artifacts on the surface suggest that it is part of a late prehistoric settlement in the uplands. Were they made by Fremont or Numic groups...and why? We will identify, record, and conduct limited subsurface tests on these features.
The
goal of educating students will be reinforced by brief lectures by the
instructor and guests on topics of regional interest and prehistory. Advantage
can be taken of the rich archaeological history of eastern Nevada by visiting
public parks within reasonable travel distance. Students will be enrolled
through UC Davis in Anthropology 181 for 9 summer session units.
This project is made possible by a cooperative agreement between UC Davis
Anthropology and the Ely District office of Nevada, Bureau of Land Management.
Please
apply no later than June 30, 2005.
For more information, please contact:
Clint
Cole
Department of Anthropology
One Shields Avenue
Davis, CA 95616
crcole@ucdavis.edu